General Electric (NYSE:GE) Increases Dividend to $0.36 Per Share

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.36 per share by the conglomerate on Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28.

General Electric has increased its dividend by an average of 51.8% annually over the last three years. General Electric has a payout ratio of 17.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect General Electric to earn $6.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.4%.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $208.62. 4,267,083 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,009,583. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.66 and a 200 day moving average of $179.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a 52-week low of $117.43 and a 52-week high of $211.42. The company has a market cap of $223.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22.

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General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.73.

General Electric Company Profile

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.